Raymond L. Garthoff ’49

Diplomat, scholar, and prolific author, Ray died Dec. 7, 2024, at age 95 in Mitchellville, Md.

He grew up in Alexandria, Va., graduating from George Washington High School. At Princeton, he graduated cum laude from the School of Public and International Affairs and was a member of Prospect Club, the Chapel Choir, Whig-Clio, and was president of the Rifle and Pistol Club. He earned a Ph.D. in international relations from Yale, where he met his wife, Vera Vasilieva.

Fluent in Russian, Ray specialized in Soviet affairs at the RAND Corp. and the CIA before joining the State Department, where he helped negotiate key arms control agreements and served as U.S. ambassador to Bulgaria. In 1980, he joined the Brookings Institution, where he wrote comprehensive studies of U.S.-Soviet relations during the Cold War.

Ray wrote 10 books and numerous articles on Soviet affairs and a memoir, Journey through the Cold War: A Memoir of Containment and Coexistence. He was awarded the Arthur S. Flemming Award as one of 10 outstanding federal service officers, the State Department’s Distinguished Honor Award, and Yale’s Wilbur Cross Medal.

Ray is survived by his wife, Vera; his son, Alexander; three grandsons; and his brother, Douglas Garthoff ’64.